The invention relates to a new and distinct variety of sweet orange named ‘B9-65’. ‘B9-65’ is a vigorous tree that produces standard ‘Valencia’-type sweet orange fruit, and is superior to other Valencia and Valencia-like clones for yield and juice quality, with a standard ‘Valencia’ fruit maturation date. In Florida, quality fruit of ‘B9-65’ can generally be harvested from mid-February through May, depending on environmental conditions.
‘B9-65’ originated as a somaclone of ‘Valencia’ sweet orange regenerated via adventitious shoot induction from a nucellar seedling stem piece obtained from standard Valencia (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) in 1987. Somaclonal variation is defined as variability in plants regenerated from tissue culture that is either induced or uncovered by a tissue culture process. Most somaclonal variation is negative, but if enough plants are examined, positive changes can usually be recovered. Somaclonal variation has been a primary source of genetic variation in sweet orange exploited in citrus improvement programs.
The first asexual reproduction of ‘B9-65’ involved grafting of the original tree to ‘Carrizo’ citrange rootstock and planting at a collaborative research block in Indiantown, Martin County, Fla. in 1989. Vegetative budwood was then cut from the tree and successfully grafted onto ‘Carrizo’ in 2000 in Lake Alfred, Fla. The second generation tree was planted in Winter Park, Fla., and has demonstrated true-to-typeness.